Ballast handling devices for use under railroad tracks



Dec. 17, 1963 J. w. CHRISTOFF 3,114,330

BALLAST HANDLING DEVICES FOR'USE UNDER RAILROAD TRACKS 9 Sheets-Sheet 1Original Filed July 21. 1958 Dec. 17, 1963 J. w. CHRISTOFF BALLASTHANDLING DEVICES FOR USE UNDER RAILROAD TRACKS 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 OriginalFiled July 21, 1958 Dec.'l7, 1963 J. w. CHRISTOFF ,3

BALLAST HANDLING DEVICES FOR USE UNDER RAILROAD TRACKS Original FiledJuly 21, 1958 9 Sheets-Sheet 3 Dec. 17, 1963 J. w. CHRISTOFF 3,114,330

BALLAST HANDLING DEVICES FOR USE UNDER RAILROAD TRACKS 9 Sheets-Sheet 4Original Filed July 21, 1958 Dec. 17, 1963 J. w. CHRISTOFF v 3,114,330

BALLAST HANDLING DEVICES FOR USE UNDER RAILROAD TRACKS 9 Sheets-Sheet 5Original Filed July 21, 1958 Dec. 17, 1963 J. w. CHRISTOFF 3,11

BALLAST HANDLING DEVICES FOR USE UNDER RAILROAD TRACKS Original FiledJuly 21, 1958 9 Sheets-Sheet 7 Dec. 17, 1963 J. w. CHRISTOFF 3,

BALLAST HANDLING DEVICES FOR USE UNDER RAILROAD TRACKS Original FiledJuly 21, 1958 Dec. 17, 1963 J. w. CHRISTOFF BALLAST HANDLING DEVICES FORUSE UNDER RAILROAD TRACKS 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 Original Filed July 21, 1958United States Patent This invention relates to under-track devices ofthe so-called bmlast sled and ballast plow types.

Ballast plo'ws are employed for removing fouled ballast from a railroadroadbed. A plow is inserted between the roadbed and the ties to whichthe track rails are secured and is then towed along the track in thisposition by alocomotive. As the plow progresses, it raises the ties fromthe roadbed ahead of it, supports the ties and the track securedthereto, as the device passes. underneath, and finally allows the tiesand track to settle back onto the roadbed or sub-grade behind thedevice. The weight of the ties and track supported by the plow isconsiderable and the plow is therefore pressed firmly down against theballast. By providing the plow with one or more scraper blades it ispossible to separate a layer of ballast of chosen depth and displacethis ballast to the side of the track beyond the ends of the ties, sothat when the ties resettle, this displaced ballast can be readilyremoved.

Ballast sled devices are similar to ballast plows in that they areinserted between the roadbed and the ties and re towed along in thisposition by a locomotive. Sleds, however, are used either during thelaying down of new tracks or to perform a reballasting operationfollowing the pulling of a ballast plow in the manner just described.After the plow has removed the fouled ballast, or, in the case of a newtrack laid directly on the sub-grade, after the track has been so laid,fresh clean ballast is dumped onto the track to lie on top of the tiesand rails. The function of the sled is to raise the ties up to theirdesired level and distribute the ballast evenly beneath them.

Subsequently additional ballast will normally be dumped on the trackbetween each pair of adjacent ties, this latter operation usually beingcarried out manually, since it does not require raising of the track.

There is much in common between the basic structure of a ballast plowand a ballast sled, the difference being that the plow uses scraperblades for deflecting ballast, whereas the sled uses levelling bladesfor smoothing out ballast. In other respects these two devices functionin a very similar manner, each being required to move along the roadbedwhile lifting and supporting a span of track. Both devices consist of agenerally flat framework of rigid construction, this framework includingessentially a plate of metal, upper runner means for slidingly andsupportingly engaging the ties, and either scraper blades (in the caseof a plow) or under-runners and levelling blades (in the case of thesled).

The general object of the present invention is to improve the basicstructure of these under-track devices generally, an improvement whichis applicable to both sleds and plows.

In particular, the improvement envisaged in the present invention isdirected towards a structure better suited to the speedy handling ofloose ties encountered on the track. Sometimes rail spikes are displacedor become seriously loosened, so that as the track is elevated inadvance of the sled or plow, one or both ends of a tie remain on theground as the rail or rails to which such ends are supposed to besecured are elevated.

In its application to ballast sleds, the present invention is animprovement over the structure illustrated in James :5 W. ChristoifsUnited States Patent No. 2,961,972 issued l=lovember 29, 1960, since amanner in which a tie loose at one end may be elevated by a ballastsled, without the need to arrest for-ward movement of the sled, isdescribed in said other patent.

The specific object of the present invention is to provide an improvedstructure that is capable of even better handling of such a situationi.e. a tie loose at one end, and which is also capable of elevating atie when both its ends have become loosened from the rails so that itlies wholly detached from the rails as the track is elevated in advanceof the sled or plow.

The present invention may be defined as an undertrack device forhandling ballast under railroad tracks and ties, said device comprisinga generally flat framework constructed to be drawn along between theroadbed and the ties while supporting the weight of said ties and a spanof track, said framework comprising a plate, means effective to spacethe plate above the bottom of the device so that a substantial portionof the ballast passes under said plate, a pair of parallel upper runnersspaced apart transversely of the device for engagement with theundersurfaces of the ties, and a pair of nose portions spaced aparttransversely of the device and projecting forwardly and downwardly ofthe leading edge of said plate to constitute the most forwardly situatedportions of the device, the extent of forward projection of said noseportions being of such value as to ensure contact between said noseportions and a tie lying on said roadbed wholly detached from said trackat a position sufficiently far forward of the main body of the devicethat the bottom of a tie attached to said track at such position iselevated by an extent less than the height of the ties so that continuedmovement of said detached tie as urged forwards by said nose portionswill be prevented by engagement of said detached tie with the nextattached tie.

The accompanying drawings illustrate by way of examplc a manner in whichthe invention may be applied to a ballast sled and to a ballast plow.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 shows a top plan view of a ballast sled with its rear flaps inraised posit-ion;

FIGURE 2 shows a side view of the sled seen in FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 shows an underside plan view of the sled in FEGURE l and 2;

FIGURE 4 is a section taken on the line IV-IV in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a front View of the sled taken on the line VV in FIGURE 1,but showing the flaps in low ered position;

FEGURE 6 is a diagrammatic side view of the sled in operation on alength of track;

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged fragmentary side view of the sled in operationon a length of track from which a .tie is hanging loosely at one end;

FIGURE 8 is a view from approximately ground level looking towards thefront of the oncoming sled in operation in FIGURE 7 and further showingthe tie hanging loosely at one end;

FIGURE 9 is a view similar to FIGURE 7 showing the position of the partsa moment later after the sled has advanced a short distance;

FIGURE 10 is a view similar to FIGURE 7 showing the sled approaching atie which has become wholly detached from the track;

FIGURE 11 is a further front view similar to FIGURE 8 but showing theconditions of FIGURE 10;

FIGURE 12 is a View similar to FIGURE 10 showing the parts a momentlater after the sled has advanced a short distance;

FIGURE 13 is another view similar to FIGURE 12 showing the position ofthe parts at a still later stage after the sled has further advanced;

FIGURES 14a and 14]; form an exploded diagrammatic illustration of theconditions pertaining to a span of track in the vicinity of the sleddevice illustrated in the foregoing figures;

FIGURES 15a and 1512 form a similar exploded diagrammatic illustrationwith a different design of sled;

FIGURE 16 is a plan view of a ballast plow incorporating the invention;

FIGURE 17 is a side view of the ballast plow seen in FIGURE 16;

FIGURE 18 is an underside plan view of the plow seen in FIGURES 16 and17;

FIGURE 19 is a diagrammatic side view of the plow in operation on alength of track; and

FIGURE 20 is an enlarged portion of FIGURE 19 showing operation of theplow with a loose tie.

The invention in its application to a ballast sled will first bedescribed with reference to FIGURES 1 to 15, reference being firstdirected to FIGURES l to illustrating a sled alone.

The sled 10 consists of a framework structure of welded, bolted orriveted construction comprising a main plate 11 of steel, to theunderside of which there are secured five parallel spaced beams 12, 13,14, and 16, each carrying on its lowermost flange an underrunner 17, 18,19, 211 and 21 respectively (see particularly FIGURES 3 and 4). The twobeams 12 and 16 extending along the side edges of the sled and thecentral beam 14 together with their under-runners 17, 21 and 19terminate level with the front edge 25 of the main plate 11, theseunderrunners having at their forward ends, upwardly curved taperedportions 22, 23 and 2-4 respectively. The intermediate beams 13 and 15,and with them the underrunners 18 and 20 that they carry, extend aconsiderable distance forwardly of the front edge 2.5 of the main plate11. These latter under-runners 18 and 20 are not upwardly curved but theupper flanges 26 and 27 of their corresponding beams 13 and 15 aredownwardly inclined to support downwardly extending forward noseportions 23 and 29 of upper runner members 31) and 31 that extendrearwardly from these forward portions to pass along the top of the mainplate 11 to the rear of the structure, being supported a few inchesabove the plate 11 by interiediate members 32 and 33. The spacing apartfrom one another of the runner members and 31 transversely on the sledcorresponds to the spacing of the rails so that when the sled is incorrect position a runner is situated under each rail.

The extreme forward tips 34 and 35 of the nose portions 28 and 29 of theupper runner members 30 and 31 extend somewhat forwardly and slightlydownwardly of the corresponding lower flanges 18 and 20 of therespective beams 13 and 15 (see FIGURE 2).

Weep holes 36 are cut in the main plate 11 to provide four verticalcommunicating passageways between the upper and lower sides of the plate11.

Bolted (for easy removal when shipping) to the forward side edges of themain plate 11 are towing ears 37 and 38 provided with holes 39 and 40for receiving shackles on the end of towing cables. The manner of towingis described below in connection with FIGURE 6.

At its rearward edge the plate 11 is cut into forwardly projectingV-shape, the two rear edges of the plate thus formed carrying hinges 41and 42 whereby main rear flaps 43 and 4-4 are pivotally mounted on thesled. Each of these flaps 43 and 44 has a levelling blade (designatedrespectively as 45 and 46) secured thereto by bolt and nut assemblies47, the flaps 43 and 44 being slotted to receive the bolts to permitadjustment of the blades positions on the flaps.

On each rearward side edge of the main plate 11 and secured to the uppersurface thereof are rearwardly projecting arms 48 and 49. Extendingdownwardly and forwardly from the underside of each of these arms 43 and49 is a partly arcuate bar 51) the forward edge of which is secured to arespective main beam 16 or 12. Each of these bars St? has formed in it aseries of holes (see FIG- URE 2), in a selected one of which a pin maybe mounted to project into the path of swinging movement of the outsideedge 53 or 54 of a respective main flap 43 or 44. For an enlarged Viewof these parts, which do not form part of the present inventive advanceand which therefore will not be described in further detail attention isdirected to FIGURE 8 of the above-mentioned other Patent 2,961,- 972, inwhich drawing the parts are similarly numbered.

The sled is also provided with a central rear flap 55 secured to theundersurface of the main plate 11 and to the rear end of the beam 14 bymeans of a hinge 56. This central flap has the shape of a trapeziumwidening from its connection at the hinge 56 to its rearward edge 57. Anupper bar 53 extends rearwardly along the central portion of the mainplate 11 above the beam 14 to overlie the hinge 56 and the centralportion of the flap 55. The purpose of the central flap 55 is to coverthe gap that would otherwise exist between the inner ends of the mainflaps 4-3 and 4a and of the blades 45 and 46 secured thereto. Again, fora further detailed description and illustration of the exact operationof this central flap 55, attention is directed to said other Patent2,961,972, and in particular to FIGURE 10 thereof.

These flap parts have been shown in different positions in the variousfigures. In FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, both the main flap 4-3 and 44 and thecentral flap 55 have been shown in their uppermost positions. In a sensethis is artificial, as the parts will not remain in this positionwithout being supported, but this license is desirable for completenessof illustration. By way of contrast, in FIG- URE 5 which is a frontview, all the flaps have been shown in their lowered positions, that isto say projecting substantially vertically downwardly. This is the trueposition of repose if the sled is assumed to be supported in its normalupright position without any object beneath it to engage the flaps whichhang down somewhat below the level of the under-runners.

The actual position that the flaps take up in operation is intermediatebetween those illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 5 and is apparent from FIGURE6 which illustrates the manner in which a ballast sled such as the onejust described is employed to reballast track that has beenskeletonized, that is to say plowed clean of old ballast, or to ballastnew track that has been laid directly on the sub-grade without ballast.In the track shown in FIG- URE 6, the ties 61 supporting the rails 61 inadvance of the sled 19 are assumed to be resting directly on the uppersurface of the sub-grade 62. Prior to the sledding operation, freshballast 63 will have been dumped from a railroad car to lie between theties 60 and also to lie to some extent on top of the ties approximatelyup to the upper level of the rails 61 and sometimes slightly above suchlevel. The function of the sled device is to slide along with itsunder-runners 17 to 21 on the sub-grade 62 and to raise the track awayfrom the ballast, the ties 60 sliding on the upper runners 30 and 31.This will leave the ballast in piles 64 in advance of the sled. Thefunction of the sled is to level off these piles and produce a smoothsurfaced ballast layer 65 behind the sled.

This levelling operation is carried out by the main blades 45 and 46and, along the central area of the sled, by the central flap 55. All theflaps tend to hang downwardly by reason of their weight. When theyencounter ballast they are forced upwardly until the ends 53 and 54 ofthe main flaps 43 and 44 come to bear against the pins in theirrespective bars 50, the latter having been placed in suitable holeshaving regard to the operating conditions, for exampie the volume ofballast (thickness of ballast layer that is required to be applied), tneform of ballast being used, the speed of towing, the weight of track,and any other factors found to influence the pulling conditions. Theselection of the exact setting for the flaps will normally be determinedempirically on the site, and will be a matter of operating experience.The central fiap 55 will likewise be forced upwards until it bearsagainst the inner ends of the blades 45 and 4s whereupon further upwardpivoting will be prevented, the lower edges of blade 35, flap 55 andblade 46 then forming, in effect, a continuous ballast levelling bladeextending uninterruptedly across the sled from side to side. In thismanner the continuously smooth ballast layer as shown in FIGURE 6 isformed free from objectionable irregularities.

Towing of the sled is carried out in a conventional manner, employing apair of cables 65 extending forwardly from the towing cars 37 and 38 tosuitable towing points 67 on a flat car 63 which will be drawn along bymeans of a locomotive (not shown), as indicated by the arrow. Again, foradditional details of this operation, reference may be had to said otherPatent 2,961,972 or to L. B. Franco, US. Patent No. 2,769,l72, issuedOctober 30, 1956.

Rearwardly of the sled 1d the track settles down onto the smooth layer65 of ballast. The track-raising part of the reballasting operation isthen complete and subsequently additional ballast can be dumped betweenthe ties directly from ballast cars.

Attention is now directed to FIGURES 7 to 9 which illustrate theoperation of the sled it? under a first type of abnormal condition,namely the encountering or" a tie which has become detached at one endfrom one of the rails til. This condition is illustrated in FEGURES 7and 8 (in L'GURE 8 the ballast has been omitted for clarity ofillustration) the aficoted tie so being shown still in advance of thesled 16. A situation such as this is inherently likely to give rise totie bunching, ecause, if the faulty tie is not raised quickly into itsproper position, the forces exerted on it when travelling over the mainportion of the sled will tend to work it wholly free from the other raiand cause sui ncien t confusion to necessitate a. stoppage in theprogress of the sled. With the present construction, such a loose tie isquickly picked up by the extreme tip 35 of the nose portion 2? situatedon the side of the sled to which the tie is drooping, since, as will beevident from FlGURE 7 in which the tip 35 is shown closely approachingthe fallen end of the tie till, such tip 35, which penetrates thesub-grade to a slight extent, will inset itself under the fallen end ofthe tie. Such tip will then act to raise the lower end of the tie untilit is back, at least approximately, into its normal position before itis called upon to travel rcarwardly along the main runners 3d and 31which support the weight of the track. The position occupied by the tieso when it has been picked up by the tip 35' of the nose portion 29 ofthe runner 31, after the sled has advanced a short distance from theposition shown in FIGURE 7, is illustrated in FIGURE 9. With this methodof operation it is unnecessary to stop the sled, and the tie can behandled manually in the manner desired (either respiked or removedwholly from the track) immediately rearwardly of the sled.

FIGURES 10' to 12 illustrate the operation of the sled it under a secondclass of abnormal condition, namely a wholly loose tie both ends ofwhich have become disconnected from the rails 61. This is a moredifficult abnormfl condition to deal with without stopping the forwardmovement of the sled, and it is particularly in this respect that thepresent invention provides a substantial practical improvement over thesled disclosed in said other patent. FIGURES l0 and l l show a tie at"that has become detached from both rails 61 and which accordinglyremains on the sub-grade 62 as the track is elevated in advance of thesled ltl. When such a tie as so" is encountered by the two tips and 35,they may succeed in undcrrunning the tie sufficiently to elevateit,

but such operation cannot be relied upon. More often than not, the tieso" will be pushed forward with the sled, since it has no attachment tothe rails 61 to check such a movement. This situation is illustrateddiagrammatically in FIGURE 12 which shows the loose tie 6%) after beingforced forward by the sled until it has come to bear against the nextattached tie 69. By virtue of the extent of forward projection of thetips 34 and 35 from the main structure of the sled it (with theresulting early contact between the fallen tie 69" and the leading tipsor the sled), when the tie 65?" is pushed forward it does not passunderneath the next attached tie so but strikes against its lower partin the manner shown in EEG- URE 12. if the forward tips 34 and 35 of thenose portions 2% and 2d did not project so for forward, the track wouldbs suiliciently high by the time the loose tie 6b" approaches the nextattached tie till that the loose tie would pass under the attached tie.For the same reason it would pass under all subsequent ties and wouldnever be lifted, being continuously forced forward along the track inadvance of the sled. This efliect has been encountered in prior artsleds and has been found seriously to disturb the ballast and the trackgenerally and has necessitated stoppage of the sled to permit thesituation to be corrected manually. With the present extremely longforward projection of the tips of the nose portions of the sled, thisdisadvantage is avoided, because any fallen tie such as the tie 6-9" iscontacted by the lower part of the next attached tie so before such attached tie is raised sufficiently to be able to pass over the top of thefallen tie 6%". FIGURE l3 shows the conditions 21 short time later,after the tie 68 has been forced up onto the runners 3i: and 31 with theattached tie 69 which it encountered in FiGURE 12. In this position, theloose tic 56- can. readily be pulled sideways manually from under therails 61 and replaced by a new tie without stopping forward progress ofthe sled.

FIGURES 6 to 13 are essentially diagrammatic and idealized. In practice,minor variations from the theorotical performance ar sure to beexperienced, but these will not normally affect the basic pattern ofoperation.

To provide a proper dimensional basis for the invention, the generaloutline of the track. has been presented in FiGURES 14a and 1415, thelatter view being an extension or" the former. These views showmeasurements taken experimentally when drawing the ballast sled w on asection of track employing pound rails, which is a comparatively rigidtype of rail. The horizontal line X is assumed to represent thesub-grade and the inclined line Y the line of the bottoms of the ties. Aseries of measurements was taken at ten foot spacings taken forwardlyand backwardly from a point C aligned with tips 34 and 35. This placedpoint A approximately beneath the rear wheel of the towing car 6 8(FIGURE 6), since a typical tow length will be such as to place the rearwheel of the fiat car 68 about 20 feet in advance of the leading tips 34and 35 of the sled. It is desirable to keep the towing cables 66 shortenough to cause the Weight of the flat car 63 to suppress the initialelevation of the track from that which would occur with a very long tow.Measurements of track elevation were taken at successive ten footdistances, namely points B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I and J, shown in FIGURES14a and 14b. The elevation of the line Y showing the line of the tiebottoms at these points was respectively:

For ease of measurement this experiment was conducted under somewhatartificial conditions on new track with no ballast present, the trackbeing returned to the sub-grade rather than to a layer of ballast, butthe drawings still serve to demonstrate the point for which they wereprepared, namely that the elevation of the track at the point C which iscoincident with the leading tips of the nose portions of the sled wasfound to be five and a half inches, which is less than the verticaldimension of a. tie, which is seven inches. Accordingly, any loose tieforced forward by the sled to this point must engage an inch and a halfof the lower part of the next fixed tie in the manner illustrated inFIGURE 12. Moreover this operation will normally be very substantiallyassisted by the ballast onto which the tie 69 will tend to ride, asshown in FIGURE 12. Another factor that tends to assist this effect isthe fact that in most instances the spikes are loose as much as half aninch so that many of the attached spikes hang down a little below thetheoretical line Y. For these reasons, in practice, a length of noseportion that yields a track elevation of /2" at point C is conservative,and a somewhat greater value for this elevation, up to and even slightlybeyond the figure of 7", can be adopted with normally satisfactoryresults. It will be appreciated that reliable measurements are difficultto obtain, especially as conditions cannot always be duplicated exactly.For this reason, a fair measure of assured contact area between ties ispreferred, to ensure satisfactory performance even under the mostunfavourable conditions.

If a less rigid class of rail, say an 85 pound used, the verticaldimension at C would be less fore the same operation would be ensured.

It will be noted that at its maximum height (E=l6%") the ties are higherthan the highest part of the sled, which highest part occurs betweenpoints D and E and has a value of (the height of the sledsee FIGURE 2).This effect is produced by the artificial depression of the trackforward of the sled by the weight of the flat car 68, combined with therigidity of the track. The portion of track rearward of the sled isgoverned only by its own weight, and is effectively elevated by theweight of the fiat car employing the sled as a fulcrum.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that, in order to achieveoperation in accordance with the principal object of the invention,namely the ability to pick up a wholly loose tie, the forwardlyprojecting nose portions of the sled must project forward a sufficientdistance to engage the fallen tie and push it forward to a positionsufficiently far forward to engage the lower part of the next attachedtie before the latter is elevated to too great a height. Thus animportant dimension is the extent of forward projection of the noseportions of the sled. Also important is the degree of elevation of thetrack, which is basically determined by the height of the sled. There isthus a critical ratio of the amount of forward projection of the noseportions to sled height. The amount of forward projection should bemeasured forwardly from the point where the sled first achieves itsmaximum height. For a comparatively stiff rail (115 pounds) and adesirable degree of reliability the ratio d/h should not be less thanapproximately 7: 1,

rail, were and therewhere:

d=the distance back from the leading sled tips to the foremost point ofmaximum height of the sled, and,

h=the maximum height of the sled.

In the example of the invention illustrated in FIGURES 1 to 14, thevalue of d is approximately 12 to 13 feet (the exact point of maximumheight is not readily determined with accuracy) and h is 15'. Thisrepresents a ratio of approximately 9.6 to 1, which is greater than thefigure of 7. There is no upper limit to the ratio, as far assatisfactory tie picking up is concerned, so that the upper limit willbe determined in practice by considerations of economy and generaldesign. The reason that the sled illustrated exhibits a somewhat highervalue for the ratio than 7, lies in the use of the curved upper runnersand 31. The use of curved runners is preferable in both directions.

as affording a more even loading. In fact, the friction losses can bestill further reduced by employing rollers in the upper runners, asillustrated in said other patent, but such means are not essentialfeatures of the present invention. It is possible to use the presentinventive advance, that is a greater forward projection of the noseportions than any hitherto adopted or proposed, in combination with aless refined design of sled such as the sled illustrated in L. B. FrancoUnited States Patent No. 2,769,172 issued October 30, 1956. FIGURES 15aand 15b illustrate, in a manner similar to FIGURES 14a and 1415. theperformance under operating conditions of this earlier type of sled whenmodified according to the present invention. This sled 71) has flatupper runners so as to achieve its maximum height at a more forwardpoint, approximately at the leading edge of the main plate. With thistype of sled a value of the ratio d/h down as low as 7 can be used. Asled height of 13 /2" is employed and a distance d of 7' 10" (a ratio ofapproximately 7). In FIGURE 15, point C has been placed at the tips ofthe nose portions as in FIGURE 14, but point D has been spaced 7 l0"therefrom so as to be situated at the foremost point of maximum heightof the sled. The other points are then spaced at 10 intervalsApproximate height values for the In its application to ballast plowsthe invention may be considered as an improvement over the structuredescribed in James W. Christoifs United States Patent No. 2,924,897,issued February 16, 1960. For the purpose of illustrating the inventionembodied in a plow reference is made to accompanying FIGURES 16 to 19which illustrate a plow comprising a curved main plate 123 of rigidsteel, to the underside of which there is securcd a centrally locatedspine in the form of a downwardly projecting bar 124 extendingrearwardly from the centre of the front edge 133 of the plate 123. Alsosecured to the underside of the plate 123 to extend rearwardly and toeach side of the plow 110 from the spine 124 are curved steel moleboards 125, 126, 127 and 128. As appears from FIGURE 17, these moleboards are curved in cross-section, FIGURE 18 demonstrating that theyextend in straight lines from the spine 124- to the side edges 129 and136 of the plate 123. A similar pair of mole boards 131 and 132 extendrearwardly and to the lateral edges 129' and of the plow from pointssituated at the front edge 133 of the plate 123 and displacedrespectively one to each side of the spine 124. A number of struts 134extend between the undersurface of the main plate 123 and the rearsurfaces of the mole boards 125, 126, 127, 128, 131 and 132 to aid therigidity of the structure.

Each mole board serves to mount a scraper blade 135, 136, 137, 138, 139and 14% respectively, each blade being mounted on its supporting moleboard by means of a number of bolt and nut assemblies 141 that passthrough holes in the blades and slots in the mole boards. Each blade maybe adjusted in position relative to its associated mole board to varythe cutting angle and, to some degree, the cutting depth of the blades.For additional details of the function of these blades, attention isdirected to the last-mentioned other patent.

Projecting forwardly from approximately the leading points on the plowat which the mole boards 131 and 13-2 commence, are beams 142 and 143,the respective lower flanges 144 and 145 of which serve to define theleading underneath surface of the plow. The beams 142 and 143 tapertowards their front ends and are elevated where they join the plow fromthe main undersurface of the plow as defined by the blades when incutting position. The beams 14-2 and 143 serve to support the leadingnose portions 170 and 171 of :a pair of spaced apart upperrunners 146and 147, the upper flanges led and let of the beams 142 and .143supporting such nose portions lill and 171. The runners 146 and M7 whichextend the full length of the plow from one end to the other and serveto support the undersurfaces of the ties are gently curved to conform tothe curvature of the main plate 123 which in turn is curved in the senseof the natural curvature of the elevated section of track.

Conventional towing ears 150" and 151 are secured to the forward sideedges of the plow 110, such ears having holes 152 and 153 for receivingshackles on the end of the towing cable.

The plate 123 is provided with weep holes 154 in the usual manner,although these weep holes may be entirely omitted if desired, especiallythose in advance of the blades 135 and 137.

On each side, at the rear, the plow is provided with a keel device l55consisting of a vertical plate 156 forming the keel proper and having aroot portion l7 for securing between a pair of spaced plates 161 and 152that depend from the undersurface of the main plate 123, this securingbeing effected by bolt and nut assemblies 164 passing through holes inthe plates lol and 162 and in the root portion 157. Welded to the mainblade 156 of each keel device 155 are shoes 159 and 16% which extendtransversely from each side of the blade ass while being inclinedslightly downwardly from front to rear. A number of dilferent positionsof adjustment is available for each keel device 155. A central fixedkeel 163 is formed as a downward extension of the spine 1%.

The plow illustrated in FEGURES 16 to 19 is a single track plow, that isto say a plow which throws the ballast to both sides of the track. Aplow for use on double track usually has its blades arranged to throwthe ballast only to the outside of each track. For more specific detailsof the manner of operation of the adjustable blades and the trackoperating conditions of a plow as illustrated in FIGURES 1 6 to 19reference may again be made to the last-mentioned prior patentapplication. In the present application, which is concerned with theextent of projection forward of the nose portions, it has been believedsufiicient to illustrate by FIGURE 19 a simple diagrammatic side view ofthe plow in operation, this view showing the plow 110 being towed bycables 1 11. Initially, in front of the plow 110 the ties 12% areresting on a layer of ballast 12.1 which in turn rests on the sub-grade12.2. The advancing plow lllll' slides along the subgrade 122, raisingthe track in advance of itself and plows the ballast 12d out to the twosides of the track. Rearwardly of the plow 11% the track settles backonto the sub-grade 122.

The operation of a plow differs from that of a sled in that it runsdeeper in the ballast so that the nose portions 170 and 171 willnormally pass under any loose tie that is left lying on the ballast, onelevation of the track in advance of the plow. The tie will thus befirst engaged by those parts of the upperrunner portions 174 and 171that lie back one or two feet from the extreme leading tips.Nevertheless, provided the nose portions project sufficiently farforwardly, the same manner of op eration as described above inconnection with the sled will prevail. This has been demonstrated inFIGURE 20 which shows the plow 11% forcing a fallen tie 120' against afixed tie 120. Essentially the same dimensional requirements apply tothe plow as to the sled, and, as before, a minimum value of the ratio41/11 of approximately 7:1 is found desirable. In this case the heightdimension h is measured as the vertical distance between the highestpoint of the plow and the bottom edge of the lowest blade, normally therearmost blade. The keels are i nored in determining this height, sincethey penetrate the sub-grade.

til

it is desired to stress that the figure of 7 as the approximate minim-umvalue preferred for the ratio d/h has been chosen arbitrarily fromobservation of sleds and plows in operation, and is not a criticalvalue. There are too many variables to permit this value to be derivedmathematically. The rail stiffness will vary, and the ballast conditionswill afiect the extent to which the device can rely on a fallen tieriding up on the mass of ballast that it pushes before it. At best, thevalue of 7 can be said to be an approximation to the minimum value ofthe ratio that under most normal operating conditions will ensuresatisfactory performance. If conditions are especially favourable, arather smaller value may prove feasible, and in some instances it may befound desirable to increase the ratio and operate with a greater safetyfactor and a value between 8 to 10.

This application is a continuation of application Serial No. 749,740,filed July 21, 1958 now abandoned.

I claim:

1. An under-track device for handling ballast under railroad tracks andties, said device comprising a generally fiat framework constructed tobe drawn along between the roadbed and the ties while supporting theweight of said ties and an elevated span of track which is supportedabove the ballast for a substantial distance in advance of said device,said framework comprising a plate, means effective to space the plateabove the bottom of the device so that a substantial portion of theballast passes under said plate, a pair of parallel upper runnerssecured to said plate and spaced apart transversely of the device forengagement with the undersurfaces of the ties, and a pair of noseportions secured to said plate and spaced apart transversely of thedevice and projecting forwardly and downwardly of the leading edge ofsaid plate to constitute the most forwardly situated portions of thedevice, the extent of forward projection of said nose portions being ofgreat enough length to ensure that said nose portions are out of contactwith the ties of said elevated span of track with the forwardmost partof said nose portions protruding into the roadbed and extending belowthe plane of the lowermost portion of the bottom of said device toensure contact between the upper sur face of said nose portions and atie lying on said roadbed wholly detached from said track at a positionsulficiently far forward of the leading edge of said framework that thebottom of a tie attached to the elevated span of track at such positionis elevated to a height of such small value that continued movement ofsaid detached tie as urged forwards by said nose portions will beprevented by engagement of said detached tie with the next attached tieof said elevated span of trac 2. An under-track device for handlingballast under railroad tracks and ties, said device comprising agenerally flat framework constructed to be drawn along between theroadbed and the ties while supporting the weight of said ties mid anelevated span of track which is supported above the ballast for asubstantial distance in advance of said device, a pair of parallel upperrunners secured to said framework and spaced apart transversely of thedevice for engagement with the undersurfaces of the ties, and a pair ofnose portions secured to said framework and spaced apart transversely ofthe device and projecting forwardly and downwardly of the leading edgeof said framework to constitute the most forwardly situated portions ofthe device, the extent of forward projection of said nose portions beingof great enough length to ensure that said nose portions are out ofcontact with the ties of said elevated span of track with theforwardrnost part of said nose portions protruding into the roadbe'd andextending below the plane of the lowermost portion of the bottom of saiddevice to ensure contact between the upper surface of said nose portionsand a tie lying on said roadbed wholly detached from said track at aposition sufficiently far forward of the leading edge of said frameworkthat the bottom of a tie attached to the elevated span of tracl; at suchposition is' elevated to a height of such small value that continuedmovement of said detached tie as urged forwards by said nose portionswill be prevented by engagement of said detached tie with the nextattached tie of said elevated span of track.

3.An under-track device for handling ballast under railroad tracks andties, said device comprising a generally flat framework constructed tobe drawn along between the roadbed and the ties while supporting theweight of said ties and an elevated span of track which is supportedabove the ballast for a substantial distance in advance of said device,a pair of parallel upper runners secured to said framework and spacedapart transversely of the device for engagement with the undersurfacesof the ties, and nose means secured to said framework and projectingforwardly and downwardly of the leading edge of said framework topresent nose portions spaced apart transversely of the track andconstituting the most forwardly situated portions of the device, theextent of forward projection of said nose portions being of great enoughlength to ensure that said nose portions are out of contact with theties of said elevated span of tracks and with the 'forwardmost part ofsaid nose portions protruding into the roadbed and extending below theplane of the lowermost portion of the bottom of said device to ensurecontact between the upper surface of said nose portions and a tie lyingon said roadbed wholly detached from said track at a positionsufiiciently far forward of the leading edge of said framework that thebottom of a tie attached to the cievated span of track at such positionis elevated to a height of such small value that continued movement ofsaid detached tie as urged forward by said nose portions will beprevented by ongagement of said detached tie with the next attached tieof said elevated span of track.

4. An under-track device according to claim 3, wherein the ratio betweenthe distance from the forwardinost point of said nose portions to theforwardrnost highest point of the device and the height of the device atsaid highest point is at least as great as 7 to 1.

5. An under-track device for handling ballast under railroad tracks andties, said device comprising a generally fiat framework constructed tobe drawn along between the roadbed and the tics while supporting theweight of said ties and an elevated span of; tracs which is supportedabove the ballast for a substantial distance in advance of said device,a pair of parallel upper runners secured to said framework and spacedapart transversely of the device for engagement with the undersurfacesof the ties, and nose means secured to said framework and projectingforwardly and downwardly of the leading edge of said framework toconstitute the most forwardly situated portions of the device, theextent of forward projection of said nose means being of great enoughlength to ensure that said nose means are out of contact with the tiesof said elevated span of track and with the forwardrnost part of saidnose portions protruding into the roadbed and extending below the planeof the lowerniost portion of the bottom of said device to ensure contactbetween the upper surface of said nose means and a tie lying on saidroadbed wholly detached from said track at a position sufiiciently farforward of the leading edge of said framework that the bottom of a tieattached to the elevated span of track at such position is elevated to aheight of suca small value that continued movement of said detached tieas urged forwards by said nose means will be prevented by engagement ofsaid detached tie with the next attached tie of said elevated span oftrack, wherein the ratio between the distance from the forwardinostpoint of said nose means to the forwardmost highest point of the deviceand the height of the device at said highest point is at least as greatas 7 to 1.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,313,353 Tobin Aug. 19,]9l9 2,571,183 Benton et a1. Oct. 16, 19512,769,172 Franco Oct. 30, 1956 2,2l,390 Stein et al. Jan. 19, 1960

1. AN UNDER-TRACK DEVICE FOR HANDLING BALLAST UNDER RAILROAD TRACKS ANDTIES, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING A GENERALLY FLAT FRAMEWORK CONSTRUCTED TOBE DRAWN ALONG BETWEEN THE ROADBED AND THE TIES WHILE SUPPORTING THEWEIGHT OF SAID TIES AND AN ELEVATED SPAN OF TRACK WHICH IS SUPPORTEDABOVE THE BALLAST FOR A SUBSTANTIAL DISTANCE IN ADVANCE OF SAID DEVICE,SAID FRAMEWORK COMPRISING A PLATE, MEANS EFFECTIVE TO SPACE THE PLATEABOVE THE BOTTOM OF THE DEVICE SO THAT A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF THEBALLAST PASSES UNDER SAID PLATE, A PAIR OF PARALLEL UPPER RUNNERSSECURED TO SAID PLATE AND SPACED APART TRANSVERSELY OF THE DEVICE FORENGAGEMENT WITH THE UNDERSURFACES OF THE TIES, AND A PAIR OF NOSEPORTIONS SECURED TO SAID PLATE AND SPACED APART TRANSVERSELY OF THEDEVICE AND PROJECTING FORWARDLY AND DOWNWARDLY OF THE LEADING EDGE OFSAID PLATE TO CONSTITUTE THE MOST FORWARDLY SITUATED PORTIONS OF THEDEVICE, THE EXTENT OF FORWARD PROJECTION OF SAID NOSE PORTIONS BEING OFGREAT ENOUGH LENGTH TO ENSURE THAT SAID NOSE PORTIONS ARE OUT OF CONTACTWITH THE TIES OF SAID ELEVATED SPAN OF TRACK WITH THE FORWARDMOST PARTOF SAID NOSE PORTIONS PROTRUDING INTO THE ROADBED AND EXTENDING